Can Telecommuting cause Productivity to Plunder?

With telecommuting being called the “future of work,” many companies are making the move to allow employees to work from home or remotely. This has many benefits for both, and can lead to cost savings for the company as they reduce the size of their offices. By having smaller premises, and less employees on site, companies have a larger amount available for decorating their office space for those all important client meetings. A good place to start searching would be luminablog.co.uk, an online review store which enables you to search such subjects as office furniture stores in the UK.

Telecommuting has become a popular way of working, but one cannot help to wonder if this is really the most productive way of working. Telecommuting is any form of working that is alternate to being in an office. Employees are able to work from home, in a shared space, or even from a coffee shop if they are needing a change in scenery and to get out of the house for some fresh air. In a recent study of the effect of telecommuting and productivity, it was found that staff were noticeably more productive when given the opportunity to work from home at least four days a week.

Working from home means that employees are able to avoid a lengthy commute, which means they can start their working day earlier. Remote employees were reported to have worked 1.4 days more per month than their office-bound colleagues, which contributed to an additional 3 weeks per year. While there is still a major battle with work-life balance, employees enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working remotely. Telecommuting is a win-win situation in that it is beneficial to both the company and the employee in terms of productivity, but can be disadvantageous as it can cause feelings of isolation and demotivation. Employees would need to adapt to work from home and become more self-sufficient in taking on tasks and getting their work done.

A good method to adopt when working from home is the Pomodoro Method, a way to increase productivity:

1. Choose a task
2. Work on it for 25 minutes
3. Put a check mark on a piece of paper after 25 minutes
4. Take a 5 minute break
5. After four 25 minute sessions, take a longer break
6. Continue this for the entire work day

Employees have found that working from home is less distracting, as it is easier to concentrate at home than in a noisy office environment. Telecommuting has also reduced attrition in employees by up to as much as 50%. Employees take shorter breaks and require less sick days and time off, as they are still able to continue working from home rather than trying to go into the office when they are ill. Employees feel valued, as they do not have their managers watching their every move, and feel that they can be trusted to get the job done.

Overall, it has been established that productivity is indeed improved by allowing employees to telecommute. A happy workforce, is a successful and productive company.